Now that Glut was not by his side anymore, Xavier felt a little lonely. His heart ached and he couldn’t hide that he felt a bit empty inside.
To think that I grew attached to this little fella so soon. I cannot even live without him anymore. That’s not like me…or how I used to be.
Xavier chuckled lightly but his mood plummeted in an instant. His biggest advantage was temporarily snatched away from him. He would have to wait 240 hours until his tiny companion would return to his side.
“But I can still use Borrow…” He murmured, trying to use Borrow on Glut, only to receive a prompt response.
Any type of disruption can slow down, or, in the worst case, stop the evolution.
Xavier couldn’t even borrow Glut’s power until the Ember Sparrow finished his evolution.
I can use Borrow if I’m on the verge of death, but that’s it…
He wouldn’t want to terminate Glut’s only chance with the Unique Evolution Path, but Xavier was certain that the Ember Sparrow could forgive him a little disruption if his life was on the line.
“I should be fine,” Xavier comforted himself. He was a Stage-1 Card Holder with many open Card Slots to fill. It was about time to change that.
At least, that was what he planned to do…if he didn’t run into his mother on his way to the warehouse.
Alas, fate was not on his side about that.
No sooner had he taken two steps in the direction of the warehouse, a shrill voice reached his ears from behind.
“Where do you think you are going?”
Xavier cursed his ill fate and slowly turned around to see his mother with her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
“Uh, the warehouse?” He attempted to pacify her but it didn’t seem to work. Not that he didn’t know it wouldn’t. His mother’s temper had always been hard for him to manage.
“Acting smart, are we? Just like the way you have been throwing yourselves at dangers one after the other without a care in the world? Do you even consider the possibility that you might seriously get injured? Or that we get worried when you leave for your glorious missions for hours and do what you want without even informing us?”
Silvia Vador went on and on, her voice rising with every spoken word. Xavier could see her huffing and her angry voice had already begun to attract attention. Xavier noticed a few survivors stop what they were doing momentarily and turn to look at the source of the noise.
“Mom, you know I only want to grow stronger. I have to get stronger! You know why…” Xavier grumbled but before he could speak another word, his mother started lecturing him again. Xavier had been so happy just a few minutes ago to see Glut enter hibernation and had already begun counting the hours left until he would be reunited with the little rascal again.
But his mother’s words dampened his spirits. He kicked a few stones on the ground as more and more survivors began to gather around them. He did not want to yell at his mother, not in front of so many people, but sometimes she made it hard for him to stay calm.
He understood that she worried about his safety but had he not proven enough times that he was not a blind risk taker?
“Stop treating me like a kid, mom. I know a thing or two about survival.” Xavier replied in a clipped tone, trying hard to keep his anger at bay.
Silvia was about to start again but luckily his father stepped in and tried to calm her down.
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“Honey, calm down. Xavier is doing fine.”
Silvia’s ire was redirected to Mark as she began shouting at him. “Oh yes. By always returning covered in blood and smelling of dead meat. I can’t even tell anymore if the blood on him is his or somebody else’s.”
Silvia’s voice wavered a little at the last line and Xavier’s shoulders drooped. This was going to be a long conversation.
Mark kept trying to pacify Silvia who repeated how she would get worried sick about her son and that it was not mandatory for him to always risk his life.
The spectators were listening silently earlier but a few began whispering amongst each other. Arnold, the retired butcher, was the first one to speak.
“It is understandable that you get worried about his safety but you are being overprotective, Silvia. The only reason we all made it this far is because your kid decided to take risks none of us dared to. Logwood and the other neighboring towns are proof of that.”
Arnold spoke in a kind tone and Xavier gave him a relieved smile. Sensing the opportunity, he decided to jump in.
“Now that you mention it, I wished to go look at the other villages, starting with Logwood. We have been confined to Haven for too long and have no contact with the outside world. I think it is high time we should start exploring.”
Xavier wanted everybody’s approval so that next time his mother wouldn’t chew his ear off with her worries.
Leyla decided to join the conversation. “And how exactly do you plan to do that?”
She had her hands folded across her chest and her gaze narrowed. Sometimes, he wasn’t sure if Leyla was his friend or his mom’s. Though he decided to answer her now that he had everybody’s attention.
“I have a Card with Whispering Energy. It allows me to communicate with others without making a sound as long as they are in the Card’S range. Plus, a great benefit of that Card is that only humans can understand me, at least, I believe so. So, even if we do get surrounded by intelligent monsters, I could whisper an alternate way of tackling them to the team without exposing what we plan to do. Isn’t that great?”
Leyla tapped a finger on her chin while considering his idea. He looked around and could sense a general sense of agreement within the listeners. His mother had grown quiet for a while too, trying to understand what fresh horrors her son wanted to invite to himself.
“When do you propose to go scouting?” Walter Blake, the hunter inquired, a trace of curiosity gleaming in his eyes. Walter was eager to upgrade his Card and skills and Xavier’s plan seemed like a good idea for him to test his limits. So far, he had only killed those monsters that threatened their village. He wished to know what type of monsters had arrived in other villages and evolve his hunting skills.
“The sooner the better. All I have left to do is visit the warehouse to catch a few Cards and experiment with them a little. After that, I’m good to go.”
“Are you just going to keep listening to him?” Silvia poked her husband in the abdomen who had been just about to nominate himself as a candidate for the small hunting expedition.
“I mean, he has a point…” He began but grew flustered when Silvia glared at him.
Thankfully, another voice reached their ears, asking Silvia to stop grumbling.
“Let my grandson do whatever he wants, he is old enough to make his decisions.”
The crowd parted as Zora Vador entered the conversation, a small flock of sparrows hovering above her head. Xavier grinned when he saw his grandma arrive with a small gang of companions, just like Glut.
They were all circling her head a few feet high in the air and it looked like it was a living, breathing crown on her head, one made of feathers and sharp beaks. The sparrows seemed to agree to her words and chirped loudly as if voicing their agreement in unison.
Silvia could only stare at her mother with her mouth half-open. If there was someone who could silence her, it was her mother. Xavier tried to suppress a chuckle as his grandma made heads turn with the flock of sparrows following her like a shadow. He would often get annoyed at her for ganging up with his mother but today, she had chosen to take his side. And the look on his mother’s face was priceless.
Though he did not like the tears shining in his mother’s eyes so he went towards her and whispered, “I promise I will take good care of myself. After all, I love to return home and savor the dishes you cook. You are becoming an expert at cooking monster meat, you know.”
Silvia’s features softened and she sighed, raising a hand to pat his cheek. “I will kill you myself if you let anybody hurt you.”
Xavier grinned and replied, “Noted, Madam Chief administrator of Haven.”
At the end of the day giving others a helping hand and searching for other camps of survivors was necessary. If they could join their forces, it would be much easier to thwart more monsters and kill them.
****
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